question regarding boarding ? - Page 3

Sounds like he may just not do well in a kennel environment.  It's not all that uncommon for a dog to loose weight in the kennel.  My one dog does that, will drop 5 pounds each kennel stay.  I've learned now to literally beef him up a bit before taking him into the kennel.  I also send him with some more food than he would normally get.  And then it's been only about 3 pounds or so the past couple of times.  He does well in the kennel, eats his food and what not.  But, he also has not ever come home sick like that.  For him, he loses a few pounds and comes home hoarse from barking!  I know that he's really just having a good time at the kennel.  I used to work at this particular kennel and they let me bring them down to their runs.  I feel all bad and want to go down and say goodbye.  And they are all usually like, we thought you already left.   For him it's not stress related, he's just up and about all day, vs. sleeps all day at home.  :)  My females tend to do better as far as maintaining their weight, they just come home hoarse.  When he does loose weight, and it's stress related, is when my female is in season.  :) 

The kennel should have paid more attention to see that he was losing weight like that., and beefed up his food.  And yes a call would be nice. 

I have been told that most dogs carry Giardia which may lie dormant and undetectable for years, only to manifest when the dog is stressed.  This may be the case here.  That is a huge change in weight in that short time period.

PSP, if a dog has giardia they normally have very bad diarrhea, but that is the first thing I thought of as well until she said he had no diarrhea.  IMO, regardless of wether the dog was showing symptoms or not (I have a hard time believing he was showing no symptoms with that much weight loss) the kennel should have called you-that much weight loss should be obvious to anyone!  I would be very angry to show up to pick up my dogs and have one in that condition!

I have been told that most dogs carry Giardia which may lie dormant and undetectable for years, only to manifest when the dog is stressed. 

 if a dog has giardia they normally have very bad diarrhea

Sorry, VBK9, but ProudShepherdPoppa is correct. For this reason, Giardia is referred to as an opportunistic parasite. It is not detected in a routine fecal flotation. 

While your dog was being boarded, any significant dietary changes may have altered the gut flora.

Because Giardia can be difficult to diagnose, repeated samplings may be necessary (several stool specimens over several days). In addition, samples of duodenal fluid (e.g., Enterotest) or duodenal biopsy may demonstrate trophozoites. Alternate methods for detection include antigen detection tests by enzyme immunoassays, and detection of parasites by immunofluorescence. http://sprojects.mmi.mcgill.ca/tropmed/disease/giardia/diagnosis.htm

However, I have observed that, in the GSD, almost pathognemonic for giardiasis is the tendency for the tips of the black hairs (on the neck/saddle) to turn a reddish orange--especially in advanced cases. If giardiasis is suspected, it may be more cost-effective to treat empirically with a course of fenbendazole as the first "rule out" in making a differential diagnosis.  Whipworm infestation may also be difficult to diagnose, has symptoms similar to Giardia, and is equally responsive to fenbendazole treatment.

If not giardiasis, your dog appearas to have symptoms of some other protein-losing enteropathy (such as intestinal lymphangiectasia, SIBO, EPI, IBD).

If this were my dog, in addition to maintaining hydration and possibly treating with fenbendazole, I would feed him small meals olf low-fat cottage cheese and cooked white rice. If there is no response to the fenbendazole, try putting him on Tylan powder for 2-4 weeks (to rule-out SIBO) and Fastrack® Canine Microbial Gel™ .

I wonder if he got into some chemicals used to clean the kennel and that's what you are not being told and the kennel owners are afraid if you find out you'll sue them.

How is he doing today?

i spent most of my morning at the vet, they gave iv fluids again, also they took x-rays, someone sent me email about a dog with the same signs that was boarded it had a twisted intestin, that dog did not make it & the kennel never called the vet, after getting that i spoke to vet again, they did xrays, while his intestin is not twisted(thanks god)it is swollen/thickened, also his bowel, he is on an antibiotic & antiinflammotry, while i know this was cause by stress, id did not have to be this bad, if they called me it would have been taken care of long before this ! also if he doesnt improve, he will have to stay at vet on iv fluid & antibiotics(they are not keeping him now -they do not want to cause more stress) he does not have epi,sibo or any worms or giardia- this was cause by the stress & lack of care he got !  i was also told by vet that there would have been signs of this, alot of diehhera, alot, also was told by vet, a couple more days of this & he would have dropped ! maybe they would have called then ?     the fact is i paid very good money for my dog to be taken care of & now i just spent more at the vets (i would pay anything to help him) it not right ! you have no idea how upset & guilty i feel, i dont think anyone would want to come back to this, knowing it did not have to be this bad !

Venzo, I have a female that when i got married she weighed 64 lbs,  I used a home bredder to board her, no kennel. he called me while I was on my honeymoon to tell me the dog wasnt eating. from thursday to monday, she wwent down to 58 lbs. some dogs dont do well away from their owners at first. she is fine now, i picked her up and she went on the noneymoon with us

gslvr2-  i never thought of that, but it could happen.

they did xrays, while his intestin is not twisted(thanks god)it is swollen/thickened, also his bowel

Was this a contrast radiograph done after a barium swollow?  Sometimes, a dog can ingest matter that does not show up on plain films and may cause a partial blockage or intussussception. Even a twisted bowel (toxic gut, torsion at the mesenteric root) may not be diagnostically apparent without using contrast media.

At one emergency clinic where I worked, there was a springer spaniel which had unresolved GI problems over a period of weeks. Finally, the EC vet (who owned a springer) offered to do an exploratory surgery for only 200 bucks. Lo and behold, there was a piece of corn cobb stuck in the small intestine!! Similar things have happened to dogs who have ingested pieces of tennis ball or kong wedged in the pylorus.

he does not have epi,sibo or any worms or giardia...i know this was cause by stress... i was also told by vet that there would have been signs of this...this was cause by the stress & lack of care he got

Nope, venzosmom, I do not believe that either you or the vet can say this definitively without further more sophisticated diagnostics (including possible endoscopy)--tests which could take several days.

I'm not making excuses for the boarding kennel. Boarding kennels are crowded during the holidays. The kennel owners must often rely of the observations of their kennel staff. However, dogs may really go down hill and loose substantial weight within in a matter of days.

And, as hodie wrote: Dehydration can make a dog look terrible.

If your dog is still having vomiting/diarrhea and you are feeding small amounts of rice/hamburger, withholding all food and water (nothing but IV/SQ fluids) for 24 hours could be a prudent measure. If the dog really needs calories, he can be put on TPN (total parental nutrition) given IV. Chlorpromazine added to the IV fluids could also address the vomiting/diarrhea (and, at the same time, provide mild sedation to keep the dog from feeling stressed if hopitalized (hopefully, in a 24-hour clinic).